Here's what 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' looks like without visual effects

If you've seen "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," you know the sequel is filled with CGI, but what you may not realize is that the film made good use of its estimated $200 million budget with plenty of practical effects. The production crew built many of the sets you see in the final movie across 18 sound stages in Fayetteville, Georgia.

That Kurt Russell scene at the beginning of the movie? Not CGI. That's makeup. Ayesha's hangout for the Sovereign? Much of that was a practical set.

INSIDER gathered together behind-the-scenes images from photos and b-roll released by Disney and Marvel to show just how much of the film contained practical effects. We've already shown you what Groot and Rocket Raccoon look like without visual effects. Keep reading to see what even more of the film looks like behind the scenes.

An early scene in the film shows off the home of the Sovereign high priestess Ayesha.

A lot of research went into perfecting the look of the chamber of the perfect race.
Disney/Marvel

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As you can see, much of it was built for the film. Production designer Scott Chambliss put a spin on 1930's art deco to bring the lair to life.

Chambliss said director James Gunn wanted a "pulpy feel" to this sequence that still felt beautiful for the perfect race.
Disney/Marvel

"In the 1930s there's a great version of the Cleopatra story that Cecil B. DeMille made, so I looked at that," said Chambliss in the film's production notes. "So we started with a 1930s feeling to the design process and then just pushed it further and further into 1950s pulp and somehow landed somewhere in the 1970s in Las Vegas."

"Because the color palette is so limited with the gold, it also feels kind of comic book-like, which is something we were going for too," he added. "This perfect race that creates everything beautiful is really superficial and they take themselves really seriously, which in itself is ridiculous and beautiful."

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When Drax is cutting away from inside the monster at the film's start, he wasn't just pretending to slash away.

This wasn't all CGI.
Disney/Marvel

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Actor Dave Bautista was really inside a slime-filled pod.

Bautista was really chipping away at slime.
Disney/Marvel

Director James Gunn shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Bautista on set covered in slime on Instagram, and shared with his followers that it was uncomfortable for the actor to get out of it.

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The tiny Baby Groot that was beside the team at the start of the film wasn't all CGI.

A tiny Groot waves to Gamora during the team's big battle at the beginning of the sequel.
Disney/Marvel

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There really was a tiny Groot for the cast and crew to interact with on set.

While the crew didn't construct the entire ship, a lot of it was brought to life.

There were two other individuals with Yondu, they just weren't critters.
Disney/Marvel

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In reality, Yondu was carrying out that mission alone. The duo were added later.

There were two camera men walking in front of him filming.
Disney/Marvel

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Zoe Saldana did a lot of her own stunts in the sequel. Remember when she sliced open that monster at the film's start?

The monster may be digitally created, but Zoe Saldana did go flying through the sky to make this scene a reality.
Disney/Marvel

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She really flew down a wire with a prop sword to deliver the perfect cut.

Here's Saldana coming down a wire while tearing into the monster that was later added to the film.
Disney/Marvel

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And when we saw her holding onto the ship for dear life while clutching onto Drax?

Zoe Saldana in "Vol. 2."
Marvel/Disney

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That was Saldana hanging off the side of the ship with some support from a wire.

Zoe Saldana isn't standing on that ladder in the background.
Disney/Marvel

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Then there's the scene where Gamora is shown running away from gunfire on Ego's planet.

Nebula starts shooting from a ship at her sister on the ground.
Disney/Marvel

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There really were explosions going off on set that Saldana outran as two men sprinted ahead of her with a camera.

Zoe Saldana wasn't simply running in this scene.
Disney/Marvel

"The mortars that were going off were so close," said Saldana in the film's production notes. "I was like 'this is not what we did in the rehearsal,' which was at least seven feet away from me. During the take they were blowing up so close behind me I could feel the air on my sneakers. But it ended up being great and it looked wonderful."

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Near the end of the movie, we see Nebula and Gamora jump and climb up the side of a cliff.

Actresses Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana really did jump off a ledge to a blue screen wall.
Disney/Marvel

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The two then pulled themselves up to the top of a tiny platform after hanging off the edge.

The surface of the planet is much smaller than what you see in the final film.
Disney/Marvel

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In the trailers, we see Star-Lord getting ready to dive into the core of his father's planet.

It looked like Star-Lord was looking out toward Ego's core, but he wasn't.
Disney/Marvel

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The scene was a lot less majestic to film with Pratt standing in a circular tube.

Chris Pratt on set of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."
Disney/Marvel

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When Earth was getting ravaged by Ego, a menacing blue mass started taking over the street.